A Secret Sharer

During his voyage to the Gulf of Siam, a young and rather insecure English captain finds a stranger in the water. The man is taken on board and turns out to be the chief mate of another English ship who was arrested by his crew but could escape. The young captain decides to help the mate and houses him in his cabin. This is the beginning of a nerve-racking hide and seek because neither the captain's own crew nor the mate's captain looking for the deserter are allowed to find him. A Secret Sharer was originally published in 1912 in Conrad's volume of tales Twixt Land and Sea. Joseph Conrad was born in 1857 in former Poland. In 1886 he obtained British citizenship and two years later was appointed captain of the British merchant marine. His voyages to the Malay Peninsula and to the Congo Free State became the setting for his stories. Conrad published many tales and novels in English and is still regarded as one of the most brilliant authors in English literature. He died in 1924 in England.